Latest Roethlisberger Accusation Changes Perceptions

"The Assembly has witnessed over the last weeks how historical truth is established; once an allegation has been repeated a few times, it is no longer an allegation, it is an established fact, even if no evidence has been brought out in order to support it."

- Dag Hammarskjold

Isn't that the truth, at least in how it pertains to Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger?

For Big Ben, as he's come to be known by the fans and media, you would imagine that the first allegation would have been enough of an ordeal to have to go through. Sure, the court filings show that the woman involved more than likely entrapped the quarterback with the hopes of a get rich scheme of some sort, but it still left some nasty taste in people's mouths.

Now comes the news of a new case involving the star quarterback in Milledgeville, Georgia, where a 20-year-old college student is alleging that Roethlisberger assaulted her on Friday, March 5^th in the bathroom of a nightclub where Roethlisberger was celebrating his 28^th birthday. The difference in this case is that the woman took her case directly to the police, rather than going for civil damages, and she did so immediately after the incident.

So where does that leave Roethlisberger, both in the eyes of the public or in the eyes of the law?

Well, in the eyes of the law, he is now a two-time accused sex offender. You can give a guy the benefit of the doubt after the first case because of the evidence against the accuser and the fact that it was a civil proceeding, but given the latest accusations were taken directly to the police, one has to wonder just how innocent the accused really is.